Disastrous Sheffield United deal should be on Middlesbrough minds ahead of January | OneFootball

Ravel Morrison signed for Middlesbrough in January 2020, but would endure a highly forgettable time on Teesside...

Middlesbrough have made some excellent signings in previous January windows, but the 2020 loan addition of Sheffield United attacking midfielder Ravel Morrison wasn't one of them.

The new year marks the halfway point of the Championship season, and hands clubs one last chance to make permanent or loan additions to their squads ahead of the business end of term.

Some teams make frantic moves to try and bolster promotion pushes or rescue themselves from a relegation fight, whilst others remain calm and go through the month of January doing no real business whatsoever.

So, when Middlesbrough signed Ravel Morrison on loan from Sheffield United in the winter window of 2020, that deal certainly fell into the category of a desperate attempt to not only revive a once highly-promising career, but to hand Jonathan Woodgate a major boost in his Boro sides' bid for Championship survival.

It's the sort of deal that current Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick will want to avoid in the 2025 transfer window, however.

Ravel Morrison failed to make an impact at Middlesbrough

Signed on 31 January 2020, Morrison made a loan move until the end of the season to Middlesbrough from then Premier League side Sheffield United.

Boro boss at the time, Woodgate, was confident that the former Manchester United prodigy would be a hit at the Riverside despite his journeyman career since leaving Old Trafford in 2012.

Woodgate said at the time: "I just think he’s an absolutely outstanding player, and I think we can get the best out of him.

"People say he’s had issues, but who hasn’t had issues? I’ve had a few myself. It doesn’t concern me one little bit. Go and meet him. I’ll bring in him here, see what you think of him.

"He’s a top lad, a really nice kid. Sometimes the press portray you in the wrong way, and I think that’s happened with Ravel. Listen, we all make mistakes, I’ve done that myself. But he’s a good kid, a good lad. He’ll fit right into the dressing room and I’m really pleased to have him."

Unfortunately, Woodgate's confidence would be misplaced on this occasion, as Morrison made just three appearances for Middlesbrough during the second half of the 2019/20 season, which saw Boro avoid relegation to League One by just five points.

In fact, Neil Warnock - who came in to replace Woodgate who was sacked before the end of the season - terminated Morrison's loan prior to the last game of the season.

With Middlesbrough aiming for promotion to the Premier League rather than looking over their shoulders towards League One as the latest January window approaches, Carrick will surely be hoping to add some high-quality, impact players into Boro's dressing room.

To do that, he may well need to look to the top-flight for a loan deal or two, and as it happens, Middlesbrough have been strongly linked with Aston Villa's Louie Barry.

However, with Boro's playing squad at the full EFL capacity of 25, should the Teessiders wish to make any permanent or loan additions for players over the age of 21, they will first have to create room in the side.

Therefore, with squad places at a premium, and with Carrick likely unwilling to make sweeping changes to a team that he and many believe have the ability to win promotion this season, Boro will need to make any new additions count in terms of the impact they will have.

Morrison wasn't able to do that for Woodgate back in 2020, and that place in the team he took could've been utilised more effectively and perhaps meant Middlesbrough wouldn't have brushed so closely with relegation to League One.

As such, Carrick will be desperate to avoid a similar sort of deal in the new year, as he looks to strengthen Middlesbrough's credentials for Premier League promotion.